(Fleet Command Cluster, IAS Aclotloxl’s Claw, in orbit of Coldana Prime)
“Warleader! The Consortium’s Seventh Fleet is contacting us. The Tribute of Gold has been hit! Admiral Ironbelt is dead, and the fleet command has fallen to you.”
Keh Dhaka bowed her head for a moment, and then said, “The Ancestors of her people will guide her. We have a battle to win! Are the X’thari still focusing on the larger ships?”
“Yes, Warleader! All groups report X’thari ships are focusing on the dreadnoughts primarily. Escorts and small attack craft are only being targeted when they go on close attack runs or attempt boarding actions.”
It was a stupid strategy for the X’thari, nowhere near what she would expect of them. Sure, the dreadnoughts were the heart of the fleet, but to ignore the escorts entirely? What madness would make them think that was a good idea?
Wait, the escorts? Could it be that simple? She checked the database for past encounters with the X’thari. Yes! That was it, the X’thari were hunters, not soldiers! They let the escorts peel back the enemy escort ships, allowing for the heavier ships to focus on the toughest prey. Without their packs of escort ships to balance the fight, the X’thari’s proven tactics were working against them. They had the weight of numbers to make it work anyway, but they would lose many of their ships because of it.
“Send to all ships. Admiral Jadegut is in command of the strike division. I have overall command. All dreadnoughts and carriers are priority targets. That is where their fleet commanders are.”
She waited for the communications savant to send the message, and then said, “What is the status of the Black Star Navy?”
(Flag Bridge, BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Coldana System)
“Status report.”
Raven looked over from where she was analyzing the data from the sensors. While her eyes might have been on the screen in front of her, I didn’t doubt that she was also hooked in to the raw data and everything coming through from the combined fleet’s tactical network. Not having that meat to slow your processing down was a bonus at times.
“All forces are under attack, as expected. Black Star Marines have landed at two enclaves of survivors that were in danger of being overrun. Second Company has reinforced the Darboldor enclave, and pushed the X’thari back there. Second’s Crows and Thunderbolts are conducting seek and destroy missions, taking out enemy artillery and vehicles where they find them. First Company dropped directly on the Dharram enclave, where there were X’thari inside the perimeter. The Thunderfury herself contributed to the bombardment, allowing the marines and local militia to sweep up behind and take out the X’thari inside the perimeter. They are currently clearing an LZ near the breach in the walls, so they can use the Thunderfury’s point defense and shields to seal the breach temporarily. Consortium Army units have taken the primary spaceport outside Coldana City, and are establishing a perimeter.”
“In space, the Second Great Armada has engaged the X’thari heavy ships directly, while the First Fleet is battering a group that tried to flank the forces. Warleader Dhaka has split the groups effectively. Combat effectiveness of Second Armada is at 83%. First Fleet is at 90%. The X’thari appear to be focusing on the superdreadnoughts, instead of the lighter ships. The dreadnoughts are simply too tough to be taken out quickly, and the escorts are getting some crippling shots in because the X’thari are focused on the largest prey. X’thari ships are at 70% effectiveness, but some appeared to be damaged prior to the battle.”
“Unfortunately, it seems like the strongest and best prepared units were guarding the Harvester. The rest of the combined fleet has been hit, hard, though they are giving as good as they’re getting. The Assassins that have been sold to the Confederates and Imperials have been proving their worth. They are now having units of a cruiser and two Assassins making high speed passes of dreadnoughts, using the cruiser as a screen so the Assassins can use their primary weapons on the weaker rear shields. The Wrath-class battleship that the Imperials purchased, Glory of Terra, has been proving its worth, as well. The various forces are at 76% effectiveness. No ships destroyed yet, since the X’thari are focusing on the largest prey, but we have word that the Tribute of Gold was hit hard. The ship is still in the fight, barely, but Admiral Ironbelt is confirmed killed.”
I nodded once to show I was paying attention. That meant that overall command of the combined fleet would go to Warleader Dhaka, but command of the strike force drawing the X’thari away from the Harvester went to Admiral Jadegut of the Consortium’s Fifth Fleet. He just hoped no one would panic as the casualties rose. They were only going to get one shot at this.
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“Status of our ships?”
“The Black Star Navy is maneuvering into strike position. Currently at six light-minutes below the ecliptic, running as quietly as we can. Estimate 80% chance that the X’thari did not notice our entrance, with the additional noise from the rest of the combined fleet. Further 19.99% chance that the X’thari, if they have detected us, have judged us to be of secondary importance compared to the rest of the fleet.”
That was unfolding according to plan. The Starhunters were far above the ecliptic, leading the X’thari escorts on a merry chase. The rest of the fleet was fighting either in orbit of Coldana, or in a position near the Harvester. Anyone watching sensor screens would be hard pressed to notice our ships, designed to be stealthy for their classes, and view them a credible threat with conventional weapons.
Indeed, from the time we’d entered the system almost an hour ago, we hadn’t noticed even a single X’thari ship turn our way. That was good, since it meant that our ships were probably undetected. And we needed to be undetected, so that we could get clear shots on the Harvester. Once we had a clear angle on the massive creature, the situation would change dramatically.
“Time to Point Omega?”
“Ten minutes, twenty seconds.”
“Firing solutions?”
“Resolving final numbers now. The only question is whether you want to go with firing plan Alpha or Beta.”
“Computer analysis of the firing plans?”
“Fire Plan Alpha has a 45% chance of success, given the unknown variables, but offers maximum accuracy on the firepower brought to bear. Fire Plan Beta is rated at a 67% chance of success, though individual impacts will not be uniform due to the change in flight times. Unknown what the actual effect will be on the target, but computer models put it as a net gain on the overall damage output.”
“Send to all ships, we’ll use Fire Plan Beta. Have them begin making the necessary adjustment. Bombers to launch once the adjustments have been made.”
(Flag Bridge, BSN Banshee’s Wail, Coldana System)
Slave-Commodore Balmit Icebrand steadied his breath as he heard the command come in from the Master. Fire Plan Beta was ambitious, and more complex than Fire Plan Alpha, but the computers agreed that it had the better chance of success. He personally thought that the actual odds of success with both plans was higher than the computer projections were suggesting, but the computers didn’t like having unknown variables, such as not knowing the composition or internal structure of the X’thari Harvester.
It wasn’t unreasonable of the computers to raise flags for that, of course. That uncertainty about the Harvester’s composition had already played out to their advantage once, with the Harvester clearly having suffered more damage than was outwardly visible from the Firebringer attacks. That was a boon for their forces, meaning they actually had a chance to save Coldana and at least some of its people. However, they couldn’t count on all of the uncertainties resolving in their favor. It was better to be pessimistic and be overprepared than to be too optimistic and not have the tools needed to win.
“Send to the group. All ships are to adjust their torpedoes to fit Fire Plan Beta. Message the Wolfsbane, and let Slave-Captain Rostina know that the Deathguard squadron is to launch as soon as their torpedoes have been adjusted. All other fighters get ready to scramble once the Dragon bombers have launched, just in case we draw someone’s attention.”
“Aye, sir!”
(Flag Bridge, CNV Vein of Starlight, Coldana System)
Admiral Bradmig Jadegut braced himself against the command plot as the Vein of Starlight was rocked by another salvo from the X’thari grav lances. So far, the engineers had kept the shields up and their weapons firing, but damage was mounting across the fleet. One simply needed to look at the numbers to see that this was not going to be a fight that many of them would walk away from, if any of them did.
“Admiral, Warleader Dhaka confirms your command of the strike division.”
He nodded, grimly. It was the obvious call, and he had not expected it to go any differently. Warleader Dhaka was too smart for her to be blinded by power. There was no way that she could effectively manage the strike division while attacking the forces around the planet. So, she needed a deputy, and he was the next in line for overall command.
The situation was… well, not good, but it was less bad than it could have been. Frankly, the fact that any of them were still alive after an hour of close-combat with a force mismatched as they were was astounding. Part of that was due to the superior engineering and skill of professional soldiers versus a group of hunters that relied primarily on either stealth or numbers to win the day. But, in no small part, it was also due to the basic strategy that had been devised at the planning meeting.
The disposition of the Black Star forces had been easiest to determine. They were going to be the spear held in waiting, ready to be thrust into the heart of the enemy when the time was right. For a group that was designed around sneak attacks with overwhelming firepower, that was, perhaps, the best possible use of them that could be imagined. It was the rest of the fleet that had been tough to sort out.
Originally, Admiral Ironbelt had intended for her fleet to be in the center of the allied formation and take the brunt of the assault, as was proper for a commander of a multinational force. However, the Confederates and Imperials argued against it. The Black Stars, once they learned the fleet composition of the Imperial Ninth and Confederate Sixth Fleets, had agreed, and pushed for them to be at the center.
He hadn’t understood at the time, but seeing the results of those aptly-named Assassins working in pairs, with cruiser screens to allow them to close enough to take point-blank shots on the engines of the X’thari dreadnoughts with those insanely powerful guns of theirs? Well, he was Gauz enough to admit that it was the proper call. Given the state of the X’thari fleet, his analysts concluded that they had already taken out at least six leaders of the Swarm with those tactics, and the chaos left in the wake of each leader’s fall was a weakness that the combined fleet exploited to its fullest.
But all of it was just a smokescreen, a diversion to keep the X’thari occupied, keep them looking the wrong way. Their goal, at the end of the day, was to prevent the X’thari from figuring out what the stealth ships of the Black Star Navy were up to, and taking steps to intercede. Not that the Black Stars needed much in the way of help to keep off the X’thari’s radar. Even with the IFF signals, his sensor teams could barely track the Black Stars in the heat of battle. If they had been running radio silent, and coasting on a ballistic track instead of moving under power, there was no way his sensors would have picked them up at that range, and the X’thari sensors weren’t that much better than the Consortium’s.
“Admiral! Incoming message from the BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! Message reads, ‘Prepare for scream in thirty seconds.’”
Frantically, Jadegut turned and ran for his crash chair to get somewhere secure. “Signal all ships, brace for impact!”